Feeding Appliance for an Infant with Cleft Palate: A Case Report

The cleft palate is a ‘‘congenital defect of the middle third of the face that occurs when an oro-nasal communication is present between the palate and the base of the nose. Single genes, chromosomal disorders or environmental factors may cause clefts. The other possible causes are hormonal imbalances, nutritional deficiencies, infections, radiation during pregnancy, alcohol or cigarette consumption, the ingestion of other teratogenic substances by the mother, and heredity. Immediate problems to be addressed in a new born with this defect would be to aid in suckling and swallowing other problems associated later would be difficulty in speech, altered appearance, many dental problems and psychological problems. Feeding plate (obturator) rehabilitates the oro-nasal gap and helps in feeding and in reduction of airway problems, frequent infections and regurgitations. This paper presents a case report of an infant with cleft palate (Veau II) in whom a feeding plate was delivered, with a simple impression method, which helped the infant feed and restores the proper weight required for cleft palate reconstructive surgery in future. Keywords: Cleft Lip, Cleft Palate, Infant, Obturator

Renewable Mixed Hydrogels Based on Polysaccharide and Protein for Release of Agrochemicals and Soil Conditioning

The study deals with the combination of biopolymers to develop hydrogels intended for agriculture application. The aim is to propose a renewable and eco-compatible solution to enhance agrochemicals and water efficiency and contribute to maintaining soil fertility. We developed a set of hydrogels based on casein and chitosan for water retention and release of agrochemicals, in particular nitrogen fertilizer urea. The weight ratio of biopolymers, from 0.5 to 2, was investigated to understand the influence of their content on the morphology, swelling, swelling-drying cycles, and water retention in soil. The average content of urea in the hydrogels was 30% of the total weight, and up to 80% was released in the soil in 50 days. The biodegradation of the hydrogels in soil has been investigated by the burial method and monitoring the release of CO2. Results demonstrated that by increasing the content of chitosan, the biodegradation time is prolonged up to 20% in 90 days. The obtained results support the ultimate purpose of the work that the combination of two biopolymers at proper weight ratio could be a valid alternative of the marketed hydrogels with the final goal to promote soil fertility and water retention and prolong biodegradation.

A More Accurate Half-Discrete Hilbert-Type Inequality Involving One upper Limit Function and One Partial Sum

In this paper, by virtue of the symmetry principle, we construct proper weight coefficients and use them to establish a more accurate half-discrete Hilbert-type inequality involving one upper limit function and one partial sum. Then, we prove the new inequality with the help of the Euler–Maclaurin summation formula and Abel’s partial summation formula. Finally, we illustrate how the obtained results can generate some new half-discrete Hilbert-type inequalities.

Obesity and Spine Surgery: A Qualitative Review About Outcomes and Complications. Is It Time for New Perspectives on Future Researches?

Study Design: Literature review. Objectives: An increasing number of obese patients requires operative care for degenerative spinal disorders. The aim of this review is to analyze the available evidence regarding the role of obesity on outcomes after spine surgery. Peri-operative complications and clinical results are evaluated for both cervical and lumbar surgery. Furthermore, the contribution of MIS techniques for lumbar surgery to play a role in reducing risks has been analyzed. Methods: Only articles published in English in the last 10 years were reviewed. Inclusion criteria of the references were based on the scope of this review, according to PRISMA guidelines. Moreover, only paper analyzing obesity-related complications in spine surgery have been selected and thoroughly reviewed. Each article was classified according to its rating of evidence using the Sacket Grading System. Results: A total number of 1636 articles were found, but only 130 of them were considered to be relevant after thorough evaluation and according to PRISMA checklist. The majority of the included papers were classified according to the Sacket Grading System as Level 2 (Retrospective Studies). Conclusion: Evidence suggest that obese patients could benefit from spine surgery and outcomes be satisfactory. A higher rate of peri-operative complications is reported among obese patients, especially in posterior approaches. The use of MIS techniques plays a key role in order to reduce surgical risks. Further studies should evaluate the role of multidisciplinary counseling between spine surgeons, nutritionists and bariatric surgeons, in order to plan proper weight loss before elective spine surgery.

A Lack of Respect in Bioethics

Samuel Kerstein points out that although respect is a commonly deployed concept in bioethics, requirements of respect usually amount to respect for autonomy, or for giving proper weight to the choices made by competent persons. Kerstein argues that increased emphasis on another sense of respect, respect for the worth of persons, will greatly enrich discussions in several areas of bioethics. He sketches a Kantian account of respect for persons’ worth, one that incorporates a prohibition on using them merely as means as well as a prescription to treat them as having unconditional, preeminent value. He then applies the account to questions regarding the morality of physician-assisted dying, the ethical distribution of scarce, life-saving medical resources, and morally appropriate reasons for having children.

Decompacting Holocene deltas to quantify their (proper) weight

<p>Most of the world major deltas are threatened by relative sea level rise, i.e. land subsidence and sea level rise, caused by a combination of anthropogenic pressures and natural processes. This study focuses on the natural components of land subsidence directly and indirectly related to the Holocene delta stratigraphy. Firstly, subsidence is caused by natural compaction of the Holocene sediments following deposition over time under their own weight. Secondly, subsidence is caused by the visco-elastic deformation of the Earth crust driven by cumulative load of the Holocene delta (so-called Sediment Isostatic Adjustment). These two processes are obviously connected and call for a proper evaluation of the weight of (the Holocene portion of) a delta. This requires a proper quantification of specific weight and degree of compaction of Holocene deposits with depth to arrive at a first-order assessment of Holocene delta weight.</p><p> </p><p>This study proposes an innovative methodology to address the following two questions: 1) What is the proper weight of a (Holocene) delta? 2) How much have deposits been compacted since their deposition during Holocene delta formation? Our approach integrates knowledge and data on deltaic depositional environments, stratigraphic information, geomechanical properties and other characteristics of the Holocene sequence. </p><p> </p><p>The developed approach is applied to eight major deltas worldwide selected from a larger database according to the availability of lithostratigraphic and geomechanical information. The analysis is conducted at the scale of an entire delta, thus required the upscaling and interpolation of datasets generally available from a few wellbores only. Lithostratigraphic data  is combined with a backwards modelling procedure to decompact the Holocene delta sequence to their decompacted thickness to provide a proper  estimation of their weight, which takes into account the (computed) in-situ compaction degree. The results show a large variability in compaction and specific weight distribution for the different deltas which underscores the substantial role of natural compaction on delta evolution. </p>

Privacy as a New Component of “The Best Interests of the Child” in the New Digital Environment

Legal regulations codifying the privacy rights of children in digital contexts, both at national and international levels, are fragmentary. Existing norms primarily address issues related to child safety as well as data processing, but not the protection of his/her dignity and reputation. At the same time, the Internet Communications and Technology-related (ict) activities of parents, who are traditionally considered to be the primary defenders of their children’s rights but presently are the main contributors to the public image of their child, may endanger child privacy. To address the threat that “sharenting” creates, the privacy of the child should be considered not only as a right, but also in “the best interests of the child”. This conceptualisation of rights as argued, would allow for a greater degree of privacy protection as it requires authorities to take it into consideration, ‘in all actions concerning children’, and will guarantee that they allocate to it the proper weight, while balancing it with the rights of others.

Economic Justice

This chapter deals with economic justice and Rawls' difference principle. Macronism is not a uniquely French phenomenon. Like Thatcherism and Reaganism, it reflects a consensus between the winners of globalization and the economic order of a post-Cold-War world. The small-mean class, comprised of the working classes as well as the lower-middle class that largely form the movement of the gilets jaunes, has been sacrificed at the altar of austerity, privatization and the retreat of the state from social services. The particular brand of liberal-libertarianism being promoted by Macron is reminiscent of the worst aspects of Rawls and Nozick — with small amounts of wealth redistribution justifying large inequalities, and a laissez-faire economic model for those at the very top. A new social contract is desperately needed, one that gives economic concerns their proper weight and addresses the need for justice and solidarity discussed in this chapter.

Kant on Moral Agency: Beyond the Incorporation Thesis

This paper aims to discern the limits of the highly influential Incorporation Thesis to give proper weight to our sensuous side in Kant’s theory of moral action. I first examine the view of the faculties underpinning the theory, which allows me to outline the passage from natural to rational action. This enables me to designate the factors involved in actual human agency and thereby to show that, contrary to what the Incorporation Thesis may tempt one to believe, we do not always act on maxims. The result is a revised and more balanced view of how Kant sees the character of moral life.